Roof vents play a major role in maintaining the integrity of a building. In cold weather, roof ventilation maintains a cold roof temperature and thereby avoids ice damns created by melting snow. The ventilation also allows any moisture that enters the attic of the building to escape. In warm weather, roof ventilation helps to expel hot air from the attic to reduce the building's cooling load.
Dormer vents are a common type of roof vent that are generally installed on the sloping portions of a roof system. As their name would suggest, dormer vents resemble building dormers, that is, windows that project vertically from a sloping roof. Nevertheless, despite their widespread usage, present versions of such dormer vents have several disadvantages. Because of their complex shapes, dormer vents are typically formed by joining several sections of material together. As a result, they may be difficult to manufacture. Moreover, the seams produced by the joined sections of material may produce weak spots that are susceptible to water leakage.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for new roof vent designs that are easy to manufacture and avoid joined seams that can lead to water leakage.